Album Review: Down - "Down IV Part One - The Purple EP"

Down was originally a
bayou-based, side-project
supergroup forged
in the ’90s. After withstanding
two hiatuses, cranking out three LPs
and a live CD/DVD set, Down has become
the collective members’ full-time gig. Vocalist
Phil Anselmo (Pantera), guitarists Pepper
Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity) and Kirk
Windstein (Crowbar), drummer Jimmy Bower
(Eyehategod), and new bassist Pat Bruders—replacing longtime bassist Rex Brown—offer
their first chapter of a four-EP metal opus
spanning their combined influences.

This is firmly in the band’s comfort
zone—Southern broasted, neck-snapping
riffs, power-meets-sludge metal grooves,
and Anselmo’s signature gravelly, dynamic
vocals. Familiar highlights include
“Witchtripper” with its bulldozing wall
of sound and “Open Coffins,” which
sounds like a B-side accidentally left off
A Bustle in Your Hedgerow. Updates to
Down’s patented, Cajun-sauced metal
recipe include dark, mournful delay and
phaser effects, while overall there’s a bit
more Molly Hatchet-style guitar harmonizing
between Keenan and Windstein.

The six-song Purple EP avoids any
monotonous agro-level riffs often found
in sludge or doom metal, instead crafting
a new batch of NOLA-Zeppelin stoner
rock starting Down’s quartet of EPs on
the right path. —Chris Kies

Chris has degrees in Journalism and History from the University of Iowa and has been with PG dating back to his days as an intern in 2007. Since then, he's become Associate Editor and done almost everything—including overseeing web content/article creation, video shooting/editing, and writing artist features and music reviews. He spends his free time with his pitbull Doozy, collecting tattoos, and trying his hand at being a hipster by gathering vinyl anywhere he can find it. He's one of the lone sports nuts on staff and cheers on the Cubs, Cowboys, and Michigan Wolverines. Oh yeah, he of course enjoys making noise on the guitar. Follow Chris on Twitter.

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